account for (someone or something)

phrasal verb

accounted for (someone or something); accounting for (someone or something); accounts for (someone or something)

1

: to show what happened to (someone or something) : know where (something or someone) is

We have to account for the time we spend on each activity.

The government couldn't account for millions of dollars of the taxpayers' money.

Is everyone accounted for?

2

: to destroy or kill (someone or something)

Enemy fighters have accounted for most of our bombers, Sir.

3

chiefly British : to defeat or beat (someone or something)

We accounted for the challengers 3–2.

Examples of account for (someone or something) in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

And, the researchers didn’t account for other factors that could have contributed to cognitive decline. —Gillian Mohney, Verywell Health, 29 Nov. 2024

Electronic goods account for the largest share of U.S. imports from China as of 2023. —Rob Wile, NBC News, 28 Nov. 2024

These same students who are being denied high-quality education—namely, Black, Hispanic, and American Indian students—will soon account for nearly 60% of the U.S. population. —Reynold Verret, Fortune, 27 Nov. 2024

Notably, however, Slovakia’s passenger car exports account for nearly three-quarters (74%) of its overall export package to the U.S., leaving the country acutely exposed to the looming threat of Trump tariffs. —Sam Meredith, CNBC, 27 Nov. 2024